Adventures in Dieting...

For about 2 months now I have been on a really strict diet.

The good thing is- I have lost 20 lbs! Which is great, because I never thought I would wear the size I wore in HIGH SCHOOL again!

The bad thing about that is- I have NO CLOTHES THAT FIT!!! I am not talking my clothes fit poorly... they actually fall off- I guess that's what happens when you go from a 14/16 to a 8/9... I finally had to go out and buy a pair of pants and shorts because I needed to make a professional contact.

It's not so bad when your shirts are loose- but pants rolled at the waist or super-low riders (crotch at the knees, anyone?) do not make the best first impression.

Our budget does not allow for new clothing purchases- and I got rid of the clothes I wore in high school a long time ago- so I guess I will be making it with a very limited wardrobe... I see lots of laundry in my future.

Oh, and my diet? I got diagnosed with diabetes/pre-diabetes 2 months ago and decided to be very aggressive about it. (My dad has been diabetic for ~20 years so I know the complications first hand.) I got the book Diabetes Solution and have been following Dr. Bernstein's recommendations religiously, plus I started on Avandamet which I think has been helping a lot.

And, I've been working out a lot- for the first month anyway- but I hurt my knee so I have been taking it easier lately and I have still been losing weight.

Now I am worried that I may gain the weight back.... and waste any smaller clothes that I buy...

Exercise as a journey to....

I have been exercising every day for a long time (if you consider chasing an almost two year old and walking somewhere with the stroller to be exercise.) But, when I visited my doctor a month ago he said, "you need to lose 20 pounds!" Ugh!

For some reason I decided to listen to his advice (uncommon.) So I signed up at a gym that offers $10 a month plus no contract. That was the major attraction for me.

So now I get up at 5 am 3 days a week and go to the gym to do cardio for 45 minutes and then lift weights for about 30 minutes. Sometimes I think this is great- as we don't have cable and the gym does so I can watch HGTV or USA there....

But, the real question is do I have to do this forever? I mean, how long can I sustain getting up at 5 am? And sweating??? And, where am I going with this?

Time for reflection- on the meaning of exercise!